Nokia’s 6650 First 3G Phone to Hit the Market Before July

“The first commercial deliveries of the Nokia 6650 are estimated to start first half of 2003,” Nokia said in a statement.

The phone features a color screen and low-resolution digital camera, and can send messages containing sound and images, including short video clips. It will be a dual-network handset, functioning on both the current second-generation GSM and future 3G networks.

Nokia said it had already delivered about 10,000 units to operators such as Orange SA, Sonera Corp, Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile and Vodafone Group PLC, as well as to infrastructure vendors Ericsson, Nortel Networks Corp and Siemens AG for “live network optimization and interoperability testing”.

“This is clearly showing the way towards commercial WCDMA 3G shipments during the first half of this year,” it said.

Sony Ericsson, a joint venture of Japanese electronics giant Sony and Swedish telecommunications heavyweight Ericsson, launched on Monday its first 3G mobile phone, the Z1010, which is to be brought to the market in the second half of the year.